Health Care News

• Testosterone ups MI, death risk in older diabetes, CAD patients
  Older patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease who underwent testosterone replacement therapy following coronary angiography were at greater risk of myocardial infarction and all-cause mortality compared with those who did not have the treatment, researchers reported at the American Heart Association meeting. The study was based on 3,375 veterans, including 461 treated with testosterone. Healio/Cardiology Today (11/8)     

• Extra weight associated with arthritis risk in women, study finds
  Overweight and obese women were more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than their normal-weight peers, according to a study of more than 238,000 women in the U.S. The study did not show a causal link. The findings were to be presented at a meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay News (11/10)     

• Children's brains respond differently to iron, omega-3 supplements
  Iron supplementation improved the memory and learning of children with poor iron status, particularly those with anemia, but omega-3 supplements yielded no overall benefit, a study found. Researchers noted that girls with iron deficiency who received omega-3s had lower scores in memory tests than boys. The findings, based on 321 children in South Africa, appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Reuters (11/8)     

• Review links black tea intake to lower diabetes risk
  Black tea consumption was associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes onset and lower obesity levels, according to an analysis in the British Medical Journal. Researchers also found countries with high black tea intake reported the lowest levels of metabolic syndrome. Yahoo/Asian News International (11/8)     

• Veterans Day kickoff for NP Week highlights NPs' care for military
  The National Nurse Practitioner Week, which began Sunday, honors the significant role of more than 155,000 nurse practitioners in health care. This year's event kicked off on Veterans Day, marking nurse practitioners' support for veterans, active-duty members of the military and their families via the Joining Forces initiative. AdvanceWeb.com/Advance for NPs & PAs (11/11)     

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Pharmaceutical News

• FDA denies petition to withdraw high-dose Alzheimer's drug Aricept
  The FDA turned down Public Citizen's petition to pull the 23-milligram dose of Pfizer and Eisai's Alzheimer's treatment Aricept, or donepezil, from the market due to safety concerns. "Donepezil is one of only two drugs indicated for treating the severe stage of [Alzheimer's], and the 23 mg dose is shown to produce added cognitive benefits over the 10 mg strength," Dr. Janet Woodcock, the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research director, wrote in a response to Public Citizen. Medscape (free registration) (11/9)     

• Diabetes risk higher with statins in postmenopause study
  Postmenopausal women who took cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were 71% more likely than nonusers to develop type 2 diabetes, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found. FoodConsumer.org (11/9)     

• Infant acetaminophen use linked with childhood asthma risk
  Children who received more acetaminophen as babies had a greater likelihood of suffering asthmalike symptoms in preschool than those who were less likely to be treated with the drug, a Danish study shows. Although the findings, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, demonstrated an association between use of the drug and later asthma risk, it did not demonstrate a causal relationship. Reuters (11/11)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by AANP SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Signs point to increased hiring of NPs (BeckersHospitalReview.com)

• Analysis: Obama's win solidifies the Affordable Care Act (Reuters)

• CMS Medicaid rule increases pay for primary care practices (Nurse.com)

• Experts say Ohio is short NPs to meet primary care demands (Dayton Daily News (Ohio))

• Oncology group updates breast cancer care guidelines (InternalMedicineNews.com)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Emerging Trends, Products and Technologies

• CDC: Smoking rate remains unchanged from 2010 to 2011
  The number of U.S. adult smokers fell only slightly, from 19.3% in 2010 to 19% in 2011, but heavy smoking has become less prevalent, declining more than 25% since 2005, CDC officials said. They added that state funding for antismoking programs failed to meet the agency's recommendations. The findings appear in the Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report. MedPage Today (free registration) (11/8)     

Health Policy and Legislative News

• CMS extends Medicare enrollment period for storm victims
  CMS extended past Dec. 7 the deadline to enroll in a private Medicare insurance plan in an effort to accommodate people affected by Superstorm Sandy. Kaiser Health News/Capsules blog (11/8)     

AANP News

• National NP Week
  Happy National Nurse Practitioner Week. The first day of NP Week 2012 (Sunday, Nov. 11) was also Veterans Day. The 2012 NP Week Resource guide includes special material to support the Joining Forces initiative, as well as activities and information to help you build awareness of NPs as expert providers of high-quality, comprehensive, patient-centered care. Read the press release that was issued on Friday over the national wire service. Make NP Week 2012 the best ever. Contact editor@aanp.org to let us know how you made the week a special event in your community.     

• AANP CE Program in recognition of War Fighters and Caregivers
  In recognition of Veterans Day, AANP is the proud sponsor of the CE program Psychological Wellness for War Fighters and Caregivers: Combat & Operational Stress First Aid. This three-hour program was recorded during the 2012 AANP National Conference and can be viewed at the CE Center.     

SmartQuote

I observe the physician with the same diligence as the disease." --John Donne, British poet, satirist, lawyer and cleric